Improvement in ice-planers



diluted giant aient @tithe Letters Patent No. 92,325, dated July 6, 1869.

IIILPROVEMENT IN ICE-PLNERS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part ofthe same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL Lnwrs, of Williamsburg, in the county of Kings, and State of N ewvYork, have invented a4 new and useful Improvement in Ice- Ilaners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,`and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis'specilication, in whichl Figure l is a vertical longitudinalsection of my improved machine, taken through the line x x, fig. 2.

Figure 2 is a top or plan View of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction of my improved ice-planer, patented March 3, 1868, and numbered 7 5,029, so as to make it more convenient in use, more easily adjusted, and more effective in operation; and It consists in the construction and combination of various parts of the machine, as hereinafter more fully described.

A is thc frame of the machine, which I usually form of three cross-bars' or beams, and two longitudinal bars securely and strongly framed together.

B are the slides or runners, which are made with two inclined arms or parts, b l b2, which are slotted to receive the bolts or`pins C, by which they are secured to the longitudinal bars ot the frame A, and upon which the said runners slide up and down. Upon the upper edges of the rear arms b are formed rackteeth, as shown in iig. l. l

D are levels which are pivoted to the longitudinal bars A, and upon the lower ends of which are formed the segments of gear-wheels, the teeth of which mesh into the rack-teeth ofthe arms b, so that by operating the said levers D, the slides or runners B may be raised and lowered as desired.

.E are arcs or curved plates attached to the frame A, which is divided od' into a scale, and is made with Y notches upon its edge, into -which the catch fl', formed upon or attached to the levers D, catches so as to hold thc runners B securely in any positioninto which they may be adjusted, according to the required depth of cut. For instance, if a quarter-of-an-inch c ut is to be made, the catch d would be adjusted at the first notch, at the brward end of the arcs E; if half-an-inch ont, the said catch should bc' adjusted in the second notch, and so on to a out of three inches.

F are straps or bars attached to the forward part of the frame A, and which should be divided oil' into scales similar to and corresponding with the scales of thc arcs E.

The bars F are provided with adjustable stops, j, secured in place lby set-screws, so that when thclcvers D have been adj usted in place, the stops j' may be adjusted in a corresponding position, so as to stop the brake in such a position that it will support the knife and the entire side of the machine at a planing-level, as hereinafter described.

G are the front brace-bars or rods, the forward ends of which are adjustably secured to the front cross-bar ofthe frame A, by bolts passing through the said bar or beam, through slots in the said brace-bars, as shown in fig. 1, so as to admit of an easy clearance of the icecuttings.

rIhe rear ends of the brace-bars G are secured to the knife H, adjusting-screws I, and rear brace-bars J', so as to give additional strength -and support to the knife.

K, are the vertical cutters that mark the ice at thev inner edge of the swath, and which are adjustably attached to the longitudinal bars of the frame A, by bolts passing through the said bars, and through slots in the said knives K. The knives or cutters K are arranged with their curved edges forward, as shown in fig. I, so as to mark the ice rather than cut it.r

L is the draught-attachment, which is braced and connected with the frame A, in the'manner shown in 2.

'Ihe device L is formed with three or more notches in its middle part for the attachment of the draught, so that the point of draught-attachment may be adjusted, as the circumstances of the case may require, to keep the horses olf the planed ice, thereby preventing the forming calli-marks or other disfigurements upon the said planed surface.

By attaching the draught inthe end-loop or notch on the side towards the unplaned ice, the horses will travel upon the unplaned ice, and thus be unable to mar or mark the planed surface.

In operating the machine, the first thing is to decide upon the depth ofthe cnt, and the direction in which it is to be made, the planer being supposed to be upon the ice, in position to start, and with the edge of the knife H and runners B ush, horizontally, with eachv other. Ihen if the cutis to be made an inch deep, and if I purpose to work with the bank of the pond upon my right hand, the left-hand or pondward lever D is placed in the fourth notch of the arc E, from its forward end, which adjustment will raise the runner D, upon that side of the machine, an inch above the horizontal liuc of the knife H. The lever D, upon the other or landward side of the machine, should be left in the iii-st or forward notch of its arc E, so as to leave the runner B, upon that side, upon the same horizontal line with the edge of the knife II. 'Ihe machine is then started, and the plancd surface of thc iirst cut or swath will be inclined .from nothing at the edge of the pond, to an inch in depth at the inner edge of said -to begin the next circuit,

As the machine approaches the point of beginning,

the operator, who has been guiding the machine, comesforward, and, ljust as the knife approaches, at right angles, the line of the rst cut, throws the brake M, on the inner side, back against the stop j', so that the said brake may sustain the inner or cutting-end of the knife H at a level with the surface of the ice first cnt.

This construction enables me to complete a swath at right angles with another one, so smoothly as to render it impossible to percei-ve where thesaid swaths either begin or end.

Without this arrangement, thc knife H would cut into the finished or planed ice upon arriving at the end of every length of cutting, but the brake M prevents this by supporting that side of the machine, and prevents Vthe dropping down of that side when it runs off the uncut ice, and thus prevents the knife H from cutting into and spoiling the planed surface.

\Vhen the four sides of thepond have been thus planed, and the machine has been turned into position the said planer is so placed, that its landward runner, B, may lie snugly up against the step or shoulder formed by making the first cut, the brake being kept-home to the stop f, until the planer has been drawn upon the uncut ice, and the knife begins to work. The planer is now upon alevel keel, one runner running upon the uncut ice, and the other upon the smooth surface of the planed ice. In this way the work is continued until the whole surface of the pond has been plane-d.

In case of planing back. and forth, swaths, the positions of or in parallel the two levers D have to be 'reversed at the end of each cut, andthe planer turnedV so as to point in in other respects,

rlhe levers 1) and brakes M are particularly convenient in planing surfaces of irregular configuration, since they enable the operator to take oif angles and curves until a form is produced that enables thc work to be donemost easily and perfectly.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim as new, and desire to secure Patient-"- 1. The pivoted lever D, constructed with toothed segmental ends in combination with the inclined racks b', formed upon the runners B, arranged and operating as described, for the purpose specified.

by Letters 2. 'lhe combination of the gauge-rack bar E, levers D, and runners B, with each other, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the gauge-bars F and adjustable stops f' with the brakes M, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. The draught-attachment L, constructed as described, in combination with the frame of an ice-planer, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. Arranging the vertical cutters K, with their curved edges forward, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth. I

The'above specification of my invention signed by me,this 25th day of November, 1868.

SAMUEL LEWIS.

Witnesses:

ERANK BLOCKLEY, JAMES T. GRAHAM. 

